Srimad Bhagavatam Series- #17- Childhood Pastimes of Krsna

This audio is included in the following series of lectures:

Topics

• Description of Sri Damodara-lila.
• Many gopis constantly complained to Yasoda - "Krsna steals and eats butter from our houses, smashes our pots of milk and yoghurt, and unties the calves."
• Mother Yasoda heard these complaints every day and decided to prepare sweet butter for Krsna with her own hands.
• Mother Yasoda gave leave to all her servants and maidservants. She woke up early in the morning, took a bath, decorated herself beautifully, and started churning butter. She became absorbed in the love of Krsna and started singing “Govinda-damodara-madhaveti.”
• As a bhakti sadhaka, we should also wake up early and perform our sadhana-bhajana while being absorbed, like Mother Yasoda.
• We should not be distracted while chanting harinama and doing diksa mantras.
• By chanting in this way, we will gradually see the rupa (form) of Krsna, then His guna (qualities), then lila (pastime), and then parikara (Krsna’s associates).
• Be one-pointed like Mother Yasoda; her sole object is to please Krsna.
• Krsna heard Mother Yasoda’s kirtana and came. Seeing her darling son at her side, She immediately sat Him on her lap and began breast-feeding Him.
• Suddenly, the milk started boiling over as if it were thinking, “Mother Yasoda’s breasts are the source of all the milk contained within all the universes, and Kanhaiya is not at all small; all the universes can fit inside Him. She will never tire of breast-feeding Him, and He can drink forever. In that case, I will always remain bereft of the opportunity to serve Krsna. Therefore, it is pointless to maintain my worthless life, a life devoid of service.” Thinking like this, the milk began to sacrifice itself in the fire.
• Practicing devotees (sadhakas) should also have this type of humility, which is a symptom of bhakti.
• When Mother Yasoda saw that the milk was sacrificing itself into the fire by boiling over because it was bereft of Krsna’s service, she immediately removed her darling boy from her lap and tried to save it.
• Here, Srila Gurudeva said that if we have love for Krsna, then automatically we will love the belongings of Krsna, even more than Krsna. So, we must love devotees of Krsna.
• By serving Vaisnavas, we will learn to serve Guru and then Krsna.
• Krsna, out of anger, picked up a stone pestle lying nearby and broke the pot.
• Krsna went to another room and stood on the grinding mortar, stealing fresh butter, and started feeding it to crows and monkeys.
• At the end Srila Gurudeva explained how Krsna is the biggest thief through various verses of Cauragraganyam astakam.